Does Hypocrisy Matter?

In May, Vice President Joseph Biden traveled to Lebanon and inserted himself directly into that country's elections, telling Lebanese voters which parties the U.S. favored and which it did not. Biden clearly conveyed to the Lebanese people that if it voted in parties that Washington favored, it could expect aid. If it did not, the U.S.might just have to take its money elsewhere.

A staple of Washington policy in the Middle East is to subsidize parties and regimes that are supportive of us and our goals and to castigate and sanction those that are not. None of this terribly objectionable as a general principle (who else would we support?) and it's not as coercive as, say, overthrowing regimes with which we disagree with. But it's very clear that we do not take a "hands-off" approach to the Middle East, nor do we allow the nations of the region to freely chart their own destinies.

Now, Mr. Biden is in Ukraine, decrying power politics:

"We do not recognize -- and I want to reiterate it -- any sphere of influence. We do not recognize anyone else's right to dictate to you or any other country what alliances you will seek to belong to or what relationships you -- bilateral relationships you have."

The U.S. is under no obligation to be consistent in its dealings with the world. We can play down and dirty in the Middle East and then prance piously throughout Eastern Europe condemning Russia's aggressive influence-peddling. But just look at the contortions our rhetoric is forcing us into. Here's Antony Blinken, Biden’s national security adviser, as quoted by the New York Times addressing U.S. policy in Eastern Europe:

“We’re not trying to build our own sphere of influence,” he said. “The partnerships aren’t being built against anyone. They’re being built for the purpose of addressing common challenges that Russia also faces.”

Anyone who has looked at this issue for more than a millisecond understands quite clearly that Ukraine and Georgia want to join NATO so they can be defended against Russia. That is the purpose of NATO.

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